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America Before Columbus (Full Documentary)
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the iroquois call it the dark times a
if climaxed in an epic battle between an
evil tyrant with supernatural powers and
a great warrior who became a prophet of peace
this is the history of America as you've
[Music]
when French explorers first ventured
into these great North Eastern forests
500 years ago they encountered a people
whom they called the Iroquois they ruled
a vast territory in what is now New York
State Ontario and Quebec the French were
impressed by the physical prowess of
these giants of the forest what they
didn't realize was that the Iroquois
system of government was extremely
sophisticated and far more democratic
than their own
but the path to peace and democracy was
the ancestors of the Iroquois had lived
when food was plentiful times were good
when it wasn't they move camp [Applause]
[Applause] [Music]
[Music]
then about a thousand years ago
archaeological evidence indicates they
began to cultivate the land in foreign
villages the villages grew in the
nation's five separate nations
stretching across what is now western
New York into Canada up to fifty
thousand people in all sharing similar
but displayed their similarities they
turned against each other soon war was
all they knew the land was in turmoil
feuds among villages even among families
for generations the Iroquois have passed
down the story of the dark times when
the people of the five nations were
locked in an endless cycle of violence
and revenge so bloody that threatened
[Music]
everywhere there was parable in cultures
with oral traditions the line between
legend and history is often blurred yet
in recent years much of this story has
been verified by historians and
archaeologists iron whathe sometimes
called hiawatha lives among the people
who raised the unand dog one of the five
bureau core Nations yet he's not
entirely one of them
his mother was a mohawk probably
captured in battle [Music]
since boyhood ayan watha has had to
prove himself he has become a leader of
[Applause]
but the wars have exacted a heavy toll
robbing him of his wife and six of his
seven children [Music]
yet he must fight on his village has
been attacked once again this time by
[Music]
ayan wathah leads his men East they know
whether being watched and not only by
Mohawk Scouts
the chief of their own nation Li
Onondaga has spies everywhere some take
others are shadowy creatures of the
forest especially the owl the Iroquois
the unand auger chief is a sorcerer a
he feeds on human flesh his name is Tara Davao
he lives in isolation far apart from his
though the unand Doga have other chiefs
uttered offal old supreme power to him
iron whathe and the Warriors are pawns
in a game but a doll who relishes
bloodshed war feeds his power as long as
[Music]
as Tara Davos spies look on iron waters
the Mohawk often come to this river to
fish it's within their territory
the easternmost of the five Iroquois nations
but even here they are not safe [Music]
[Music]
the iroquois are locked in a hundred
year war a civil war iein watha and the other
other
unand dog warriors are bent on revenge
in retaliation for a recent attack on
their village they want mohawk victims
[Music]
during the period the Iroquois called
the dark times revenge was not a choice
it was fundamental to the belief system
the way they honored and mourned did
their dead [Music]
to the Iroquois warriors every death had
the battles dragged on and on [Music]
the only alternative to revenge killing
a healthy captive of the same sex could
serve as a replacement for a person lost
in a previous battle but transporting
captors was risky if they loosen their
bindings and escaped they could gather
others to pursue the Raiders the
Iroquois bound their captives carefully
with hemp ropes the same substance they
used to carry burdens
this was also a symbolic act a way of
[Music]
on their way back to their village the
unand ugh warriors follow a path the
Iroquois have blazed through the
today this route is a highway that runs
between Albany and Buffalo but a
thousand years ago the Warriors ran
these miles forcing their captives to
keep up along the way they boasted of
the size of their victories in pictographs
at night under the stars ayan wather
camps were these men all of them are
weary of war the legend says that I want
the longs for a better life whose people
but can see no way out he cannot know
that many miles to the west a child has
been born who will show him the way to peace
[Music]
far to the northwest in the land of the
yeren a virgin girl gives birth to a baby
baby [Music]
she and all the urine in their village
realized the child is blessed and was
put on earth for a reason they called
the baby scan Allah Howard but in time
he would come to be known as the peacemaker
peacemaker [Music]
the archaeological record left by the
Iroquois attest to the fear in which
they live during the dark times towering
the only way in was through long
corridors designed to confuse and slow
attackers inside the stockade each clan
lived in one or more long houses a clan
was made up of many families related
through a common female ancestor in
Iroquois society women enjoyed power and
freedoms that would not be experienced
in Western cultures for hundreds of
years as time went on the oldest and
most respected woman in each house
became known as the clan mother these
they appointed the male Council Chiefs
and could also remove them from office
[Music]
in four of the five nations this
collaborative system of government
flourished the soul nation in which it
their Terra da whole reign supreme there
is only one person he allows close to
him and evil seductress named chief and
saucy she shares his zeal for war and
the whole village turns out to greet
they form a gauntlet a double line for
female elder presides she is looking for
replacements for her dead sons the
gauntlet is a test it reveals which
captives are strong and which ones are not
[Music]
iein wathah has lost his stomach for the
violence his daughter is the only one
[Music]
inside the stockade the sorting process continues
the Mohawk women and children find a
ready home [Music]
[Music]
men who survived the gauntlet are now
offered to families who've lost a
husband or father if accepted the
replacements will take on the identities
of the Dead and assume their names and
but those whom the elders reject face a
the Iroquois today tell a story of the
years before their Great Confederacy
when they were locked in a bloody civil
war and lost all sense of their own kinship
in those days life was valued as nothing
everywhere there was para here again the
archaeological evidence agrees with
in a kitchen mitten or ancient garbage
dump in Jamesville New York
scientists have unearthed dozens of
bones some are recognisably human with
cut marks were stone tools separated the
a hundred miles away archaeologists
found two skeletons with their arms
hands and feet severed one is also
Michigan's head Flint arrowheads are
deeply embedded in the bones the broken
points suggests the arrows were shot at
in the ashes of a campfire were found
charred human remains hard evidence that
the victims were not only killed but
the legend says that iron whathe is
sickened by the ways of these people and
his own violent part in it yet he fears
Tata Davao and continues to obey Him [Music]
[Music]
sensing he is losing iron waffles oil
tea the evil tyrant any supernatural
tah dah dah who will not tolerate any
finally ayan watha begins to think the
unthinkable could he bring down this
brutal man who cares nothing for his own
people tah dah da hos powers are
extraordinary no one has ever dared to
do fire what iron whathe still doesn't
in his Euron village the young
peacemaker grows tall and straight even
as a boy he's revered for his leadership
skills and powers of persuasion as a
young man the peacemaker learns about
the terrible war raging across the lake
far to the east he realizes he has a
[Music]
one day the peacemaker leads to the
villagers into the forest [Music]
[Music]
he hacks off the bark of a maple tree
and asked his people to taste the SAP if
it is sweet he says peace will come but
if it turns bitter and runs red like
blood that will mean the peacemakers
luck has run out
and the evil one has destroyed him [Music]
then in a magical canoe of white stone
the peacemaker sets out to fulfill his destiny
destiny [Music]
[Music]
as the peacemaker paddles East iron one
Thoreau stronger in his resolve to
he too has recognized his destiny [Music]
[Music]
the great warrior will attack the evil
chief under cover of darkness
I am Lanza and the onion dog warriors
prepare to attack the remote longhouse
their task is formidable but the men are
determined as always when facing battle
they paint their faces to terrify their
opponents black the color of war
whoo for strength read the sign a man is
their weapons are sharp and ready
hatchets axes and Flint knives developed
for hunting repurposed for war their
unique spiral of fletching mixed the
arrows spin to stabilize its flight and
increases accuracy their fearsome clubs
were developed strictly for combat the
it's long shaft is carved from Ironwood
with a heavy ball at the end what the
Warriors don't realize is that these
weapons will be useless against the
iein wasa knows he may never return
but it's a risk he must take to try to
save these people [Music]
[Music]
I am whathe swore party inches toward
the evil shaman is ready for them da da
da who uses all the dark creatures of
arrows fly from everywhere yet there are
from his longhouse cutter da who has
been fighting on two fronts he's worked
his evil magic in iron whatas village as well
the tyrant has spared iron wathah only
[Music] [Applause]
[Applause] [Music]
[Music]
the great Iroquois leader iron juanfe
has been defeated in battle [Music]
the death of his last surviving daughter
at the hands of the evil Tara da who has
but the peacemaker draws closer every day
[Music]
Skinner Lahari has journeyed hundreds of
miles across the Great Lakes bearing his
there are many versions of what happens
next one holds that iron wanta to the
[Music]
he finds shells which remind him of his
daughter's necklace [Music]
[Music]
at that very moment the peacemaker
appears on what he console's iron want
the fries loss and points out how the
shells are opening his heart and
allowing him to more and his daughter [Music]
[Music]
scan Allah how he teaches iron want them
that shells like these when strung
together are called wampum they offer an
alternative to the endless quest for
vengeance a better way for the Iroquois
to honor their dead iron wathah feels
the rage and hate that fuel these days
as a warrior vanish [Music]
[Music]
he accepts the peacemakers message and
resolves to carry it to his people this
task will not be easy the Iroquois have
but iron whathe in the peacemaker set
out to convince the five nations to
abandon war [Music]
their first stop is the land of the
Mohawk not surprisingly they are met
in many versions of this story ayan
wanza is cruelly tortured salió an otaku
[Music]
finally the peacemaker convinces the
mohawk chief to listen mister no of the
the chief agrees to support their cause
but only if the other nations will take
up the challenge too [Music]
the people of the standing stone the
Oneida are the next to accept the
they are joined by the people of the
Great Swamp the Kyogre and the people of
the great hill the Seneca [Music]
until there is only one nation that
remains apart iein want his own people
to onondaga [Music]
[Music]
the time has come once again for the new
disciple of peace to face down his blood
the warrior iron whathe is now a man of
peace he is ready to confront tada ho
the onion dog a tyrant who has
terrorized his people ayan wanta has won
support of the rest of Chiefs and all
even karada whose evil Ally Jagan saw
say has repented her ways and joined the procession
according to the legend the power of the
singing draws Terra da hole from his
dark long house [Music]
at first the evil tyrant mocks them his
power is based on chaos and revenge to
and then something happens that even
today dahil cannot ignore another
coincidence of history and legend [Music]
[Music]
until recently most historians and
archeologists believed that the Iroquois
formed their union sometime between the
14th and 16th centuries but the Iroquois
themselves always place the event much earlier
earlier [Music]
[Music]
only one astronomical event agrees with
both oral history and scientific
evidence on August 31st
11:42 a great eclipse blocked out the
Sun for a dramatic three and a half minutes
minutes [Music]
tah dah dah who understands his
my own want that and chicken so stay
calm the snakes from his hair as he
this is the moment when the five nations
established the great law of peace to
rule the relations they form a new
United government da da da who is
appointed head of its Council in chicken
sauce a the mother of Nations [Music]
[Music]
the transformation of the five nations
into the Iroquois Confederacy is
immortalized in a wampum belt at its
center is a white pine tree symbolizing
the unity of the Iroquois nation to this
day it is known as iron waters Belt [Music]
[Music]
under a great white pine on the shores
of Onondaga Lake in present-day New York
the Warriors
lay down their weapons they bury the
from this moment their internal battles
will involve words not weapons they form
a Grand Council made up of
representatives from each of the five nations
this idea of proportional representation
would inspire another set of nation
builders 700 years later the founding
fathers embraced this idea when writing
the Constitution of the United States [Music]
[Music]
they also adopted an Iroquois symbol in
the words of the peacemaker one arrow
was like a single nation or state easily broken
broken
but a union is unbreakable [Music]
[Music]
the image of an eagle holding a bundle
of arrows is central to the Great Seal
of the United States [Music]
[Music]
today the legend of iron whathe and the
peacemaker lives on not only in the laws
and traditions of the Iroquois
Confederacy but at the heart of
[Music]
the great warrior will attack the evil
chief under cover of darkness
iein wanta and the onion dog warriors
prepare to attack the remote longhouse
of tada home to overthrow their evil
ruler their task is formidable but the
as always when facing battle they paint
their faces to terrify their opponents
black the color of war wound for strength
strength
read the sign a man is ready to kill or
their weapons are sharp and ready
hatchets axes and Flint knives developed
for hunting repurposed for war their
unique spiral of fletching mixed the
arrows spin to stabilize its flight and
increases accuracy their fearsome clubs
were developed strictly for combat the
it's long shaft is carved from Ironwood
with a heavy ball at the end what the
Warriors don't realize is that these
weapons will be useless against the
but it's a risk he must take to try to
save his people [Music]
is that these weapons will be useless
against the supernatural forces of Terra
but it's a risk he must take to try to
save his people [Music]
iron woth --is war party inches toward
the evil shaman is ready for them da da
da who uses all the dark creatures of
arrows fly from everywhere yet there are
from his longhouse cutter da who has
been fighting on two fronts he's worked
his evil magic and iron whatas village
the tyrant has spared iron whathe only
this is the moment when the five Nations
established the great law of peace to
rule the relations they form a new
United government tada who was appointed
head of its Council and chicken sauce a
the mother of Nations [Music]
[Music]
the transformation of the five nations
into the Iroquois Confederacy is
immortalized in a warm from belt at its
center is a white pine tree symbolizing
the unity of the Iroquois nation to this
day it is known as iron waters Belt [Music]
under a great white pine on the shores
of Onondaga Lake in present-day New York
the Warriors
lay down their weapons they bury that
from this moment their internal battles
will involve words not weapons they form
a Grand Council made up of
representatives from each of the five nations
this idea of proportional representation
would inspire another set of nation
builders 700 years later the founding
fathers embraced this idea when writing
the Constitution of the United States [Music]
[Music]
they also adopted an Iroquois symbol in
the words of the peacemaker one arrow is
like a single nation or state easily
broken but a union is unbreakable [Music]
[Music]
the image of an eagle holding a bundle
of arrows is central to the Great Seal
of the United States [Music]
[Music]
today the legend of iron wathah and the
peacemaker lives on not only in the laws
and traditions of the Iroquois
Confederacy but at the heart of
it climaxed in an epic battle between an
evil tyrant with supernatural powers and
a great warrior who became a prophet of peace
this is the history of America as you've
[Music]
when French explorers first ventured
into these great northeastern forests
500 years ago they encountered a people
whom they called the Iroquois they ruled
a vast territory in what is now New York
State Ontario and Quebec the French were
impressed by the physical prowess of
these giants of the forest what they
didn't realize was that the Iroquois
system of government was extremely
sophisticated and far more democratic in
their own but the path to peace and
the ancestors of the Iroquois had lived
when food was plentiful times were good
when it wasn't they move camp [Applause]
[Applause] [Music]
[Music]
then about a thousand years ago
archaeological evidence indicates they
began to cultivate the land in foreign
villages the villages grew in the
nation's five separate nations
stretching across what is now western
New York into Canada up to fifty
thousand people in all sharing similar
but despite their similarities they
turned against each other iced teas
people dyin wanta has won support of the
rest of Chiefs and all the female elders
of the five nations even today da whose
evil Ally Jagan saw say has repented her
according to the legend the power of
their singing draws parody hole from his
dark long house [Music]
at first the evil tyrant mocks them his
power is based on chaos and revenge to
and then something happens that even
today da ho cannot ignore another
coincidence of history and legend [Music]
[Music]
until recently most historians and
archeologists believed that the Iroquois
formed their union sometime between the
14th and 16th centuries but the Iroquois
themselves always place the event much earlier
earlier [Music]
[Music]
only one astronomical event agrees with
both oral history and scientific
evidence on August 31st
11:42 a great eclipse blocked out the
Sun for a dramatic three and a half minutes
minutes [Music]
tah dah dah who understands his
I own wanta and chacón so stay calm the
snakes from his hair as he relinquishes
this is the moment when the five nations
at first the evil tyrant mocks them his
power is based on chaos and revenge to
and then something happens that even
today da ho cannot ignore another
coincidence of history and legend [Music]
[Music]
until recently most historians and
archeologists believed that the Iroquois
formed their union sometime between the
14th and 16th centuries but the Iroquois
themselves always place the event much earlier
earlier [Music]
[Music]
only one astronomical event agrees with
both oral history and scientific
evidence on August 31st
11:42 a great eclipse blocked out the Sun for a dramatic three and a half
Sun for a dramatic three and a half minutes
minutes [Music]
tah dah dah who understands his tyrannical reign is over
I unwanted and Chacon so stay calm the snakes from his hair as he relinquishes
snakes from his hair as he relinquishes his powers
this is the moment when the five nations established the great law of peace to
established the great law of peace to rule the relations they form a new
rule the relations they form a new United government tada who was appointed
United government tada who was appointed head of its Council and chicken sauce a
head of its Council and chicken sauce a the mother of Nations
the mother of Nations [Music]
[Music] the transformation of the five nations
the transformation of the five nations into the Iroquois Confederacy is
into the Iroquois Confederacy is immortalized in a wampum belt at its
immortalized in a wampum belt at its center is a white pine tree symbolizing
center is a white pine tree symbolizing the unity of the Iroquois nation to this
the unity of the Iroquois nation to this day it is known as iron waters Belt
day it is known as iron waters Belt [Music]
under a great white pine on the shores of Onondaga Lake a heavy toll robbing
of Onondaga Lake a heavy toll robbing him of his wife and six of his seven
him of his wife and six of his seven children
children [Music]
yet he must fight on his village has been attacked once again this time by
been attacked once again this time by the Mohawk his people clamor for revenge
[Music] ayan wathah leads his men East
they know weather being watched and not only by Mohawk Scouts
only by Mohawk Scouts
the chief of their own nation the Onondaga has spies everywhere
others are shadowy creatures of the forest especially the owl the Iroquois
forest especially the owl the Iroquois omen of death the unand augur chief is a
omen of death the unand augur chief is a sorcerer a shaman who manipulates the
sorcerer a shaman who manipulates the evil spirits
his hair rides with snakes he feeds on human flesh his name's Terra Dawa
he lives in isolation far apart from his people who fear Him
though the unand auga have other chiefs added offal holds
have other chiefs added offal holds supreme power to him ayan whathe and the
supreme power to him ayan whathe and the Warriors are pawns in a game cut a dog
Warriors are pawns in a game cut a dog will relishes bloodshed war feeds his
will relishes bloodshed war feeds his power as long as the chaos continues his
power as long as the chaos continues his reign is significant to avoid stone the
reign is significant to avoid stone the peacemaker sets out to fulfill his
peacemaker sets out to fulfill his destiny as the peacemaker paddles east
destiny as the peacemaker paddles east iron want ago stronger in his resolve to
iron want ago stronger in his resolve to remove to the davao from power
he too has recognized his destiny [Music]
[Music] the great warrior will attack the evil
the great warrior will attack the evil chief under cover of darkness
chief under cover of darkness iein wanta and the onion dog of warriors
iein wanta and the onion dog of warriors prepare to attack the remote longhouse
prepare to attack the remote longhouse of Kidada ho to overthrow their evil
of Kidada ho to overthrow their evil ruler their task is formidable but the
ruler their task is formidable but the men are determined
as always when facing battle they paint their faces to terrify their opponents
their faces to terrify their opponents black the color of war blue for strength
black the color of war blue for strength read the sign a man is ready to kill or
read the sign a man is ready to kill or be killed
their weapons are sharp and ready hatchets axes and Flint knives developed
hatchets axes and Flint knives developed for hunting repurposed for war their
for hunting repurposed for war their bows and arrows are state of the art
unique spiral of fletching mixed the arrows spin to stabilize its flight and
arrows spin to stabilize its flight and increases accuracy
their fearsome clubs were developed strictly for combat the most common is
strictly for combat the most common is called the Gojira it's long shaft is
called the Gojira it's long shaft is carved from Ironwood with a heavy ball
carved from Ironwood with a heavy ball at the end what the Warriors don't
at the end what the Warriors don't realize is that these weapons will be
realize is that these weapons will be useless against the supernatural forces
useless against the supernatural forces of Terra da hole
but it's a risk he must as tada da house pies look on iron woth --is men prepare
pies look on iron woth --is men prepare to attack
the Mohawk often come to this river to fish it's within their territory the
fish it's within their territory the easternmost of the five Iroquois nations
the iroquois are locked in a hundred-year war a civil war iron wathah
hundred-year war a civil war iron wathah and the other Onondaga warriors are bent
and the other Onondaga warriors are bent on revenge in retaliation for a recent
on revenge in retaliation for a recent attack on their village they want mohawk
attack on their village they want mohawk victims of dead and alive
[Music] during the period the Iroquois called
during the period the Iroquois called the dark times revenge was not a choice
the dark times revenge was not a choice it was fundamental to the belief system
it was fundamental to the belief system the way they honored and mourned did
the way they honored and mourned did they're dead
they're dead [Music]
to the Iroquois warriors every death had to be answered by another
the battles dragged on and on there is only one person he allows close to him
only one person he allows close to him and evil seductress named chica and
and evil seductress named chica and saucier she shares his zeal for war and
saucier she shares his zeal for war and he's craving for chaos
the whole village turns out to greet iron Wafaa and the victorious warriors
they form a gauntlet a double line for the male prisoners to pass through a
female elder presides she is looking for replacements for her dead sons the
replacements for her dead sons the gauntlet is a test it reveals which
gauntlet is a test it reveals which captives are strong and which ones are
captives are strong and which ones are not
[Music] I earn wathah has lost his stomach for
I earn wathah has lost his stomach for the violence his daughter is the only
the violence his daughter is the only one who still brings him joy
[Music] inside the stockade the sorting process
inside the stockade the sorting process continues
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